In light of the failure on Tuesday of a Palestinian draft resolution calling for peace with Israel within a year and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017, the Palestinian leadership should go directly to the International Criminal Court, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti said Tuesday evening.

Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Barghouti pointed out that the death of the Palestinian resolution by US veto in the UN Security Council “proves, once again, that the US is fully biased in Israel’s favor.”

“Anyone who voted against the Palestinian resolution voted against peace and against a two state solution,” Barghouti added.

Barghouti called on the Palestinian Liberation Movement to immediately sign the Rome Statute, to joint the ICC and other similar international institutions, to halt security coordination with Israel and "to adopt an alternative approach to the Oslo Accords based on changing the balance of power through a combination of escalating popular resistance activities and boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts against Israel."

Eight member states voted in favor of the draft: China, Russia, Jordan, France, Chad, Luxemburg, Argentina and Chile. The bid required the support of nine member states to pass; however, even if it had passed, Israel expected the US, it’s strongest ally, to veto the resolution.

The US and Australia voted against the measure, while Rawanda, Nigeria, Lithuania and South Korea abstained from voting.

Although Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, was out of country and unable to attend the hearing, national advisor Israel Nitzan-Tikochinski took his place and made a short statement to members of the Security Council, saying: “I have news for the Palestinians — you cannot provoke your way to a state.”

Nitzan-Tikochinski accused the Palestinians of finding “every possible opportunity to avoid direct negotiations,” and urged members of the Security Council to “stop indulging the Palestinians and put an end to their march of folly.”

As part of US efforts to thwart Palestinian attempts to gain a majority of votes at the Security Council, Secretary of State John Kerry spent the past two days calling his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the UK, Chile, Lithuania, Germany and France. He also reportedly spoke with the present of Rawanda, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.